radiocarbon dating


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Related to radiocarbon dating: Potassium argon dating

radiocarbon dating

n.
A form of radiometric dating used to determine the age of organic remains in ancient objects, such as archaeological specimens, on the basis of the half-life of carbon-14 and a comparison between the ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-14 in a sample of the remains to the known ratio in living organisms. Also called carbon dating, carbon-14 dating.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

radiocarbon dating

n
(Archaeology) a technique for determining the age of organic materials, such as wood, based on their content of the radioisotope 14C acquired from the atmosphere when they formed part of a living plant. The 14C decays to the nitrogen isotope 14N with a half-life of 5730 years. Measurement of the amount of radioactive carbon remaining in the material thus gives an estimate of its age. Also called: carbon-14 dating
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

radiocar′bon dat`ing


n.
determination of the age of objects of organic origin by measurement of their radiocarbon content.
[1950–55]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

radiocarbon dating

A technique for measuring the age of organic remains based on the rate of decay of carbon 14. The carbon 14 present in an organism at the time of its death decays at a steady rate, and so the age of the remains can be calculated from the amount of carbon 14 that is left.
Did You Know? The cells of all living things contain carbon atoms that they take in from their environment. Back in the 1940s, the American chemist Willard Libby used this fact to determine the ages of organisms long dead. Most carbon atoms have six protons and six neutrons in their nuclei and are called carbon 12. Carbon 12 is very stable. But a tiny percentage of carbon is made of carbon 14, or radiocarbon, which has six protons and eight neutrons and is not stable: half of any sample of it decays into other atoms after 5,700 years. Carbon 14 is continually being created in the Earth's atmosphere by the interaction of nitrogen and gamma rays from outer space. Since atmospheric carbon 14 arises at about the same rate that the atom decays, the Earth's levels of carbon 14 have remained constant. In living organisms, which are always taking in carbon, the levels of carbon 14 likewise stay constant. But in a dead organism, no new carbon is coming in, and its carbon 14 gradually begins to decay. So by measuring carbon 14 levels in an organism that died long ago, researchers can figure out when it died. The procedure of radiocarbon dating can be used for remains that are up to 50,000 years old.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

radiocarbon dating

1. carbon dating
2. Radiometric dating based on the decay of the isotope carbon-14. It is used to date organic materials less than 70,000 years old.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.radiocarbon dating - a chemical analysis used to determine the age of organic materials based on their content of the radioisotope carbon-14; believed to be reliable up to 40,000 years
carbon dating, carbon-14 dating
dating, geological dating - use of chemical analysis to estimate the age of geological specimens
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
Radiokohlenstoffdatierung

radiocarbon dating

n → prova del carbonio 14
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
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References in periodicals archive ?
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Time warp

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